Guest Post: Belvedere Plantation

Special thanks to our guest poster, who emailed me asking about Belvedere and agreed to go write about it when I didn't have a review! If you like to write and visit new classes, places, or playgrounds, I'd love to publish your work, too! 

Sunday, October, 14 we spent the most beautiful fall day at Belvedere Plantation!!

We arrived soon after opening, which I highly recommend! By the time we left in the afternoon it was quite crowded. While in line to pick up tickets, we were greeted by the Pumpkin Princess dressed in a beautiful orange gown greeting the children with a bucket of candy! I am not quite sure if it was the candy, or the princess, but my 2 ½ year old was instantly in love! She wanted to follow the Princess all around the plantation the rest of the day!

There were a few things that greatly impressed me about Belvedere Plantation. The first  was they had REAL bathrooms, and many of them! They also had a baby changing station/family bathroom. This was amazing since we are right in the middle of potty training and the idea of trying to get my little one to go into a porta-potty gives me nightmares!  They also had lots of benches and places to sit. If you have older grandparents with you, this is a huge plus.

Another thing that really impressed me was the way they handled the jumping pillow. At other farms we have visited, they were a free for all with a mix of big kids and little kids. At Belvedere, they have someone working at the jumping pillow timing the jumping times. He gave 2 minutes for each group- little kids, then big kids. It was awesome because it gave each group an opportunity to jump with children their own size. They could come back an unlimited amount of times.

The other activities in the same area as the jumping pillow were the pedal cars, pony rides, and the fun barn. These are geared more towards the 4 year old and up crowd. There were not very long lines for any of them. The Fun Barn is also in this area. It is filled with a foot or two of loosely packed hay with ropes for the kids to swing on.

They have activity tents with face painting and pumpkin painting. The face painting was free, but the pumpkin painting was an extra charge. There are a few activities spread out that are an extra charge if you only purchase the Cackling Farm Pass. If you plan to do the flower cutting, pumpkin painting, or want to fire pumpkins from a cannon, the better value is the Crowing Farm Pass.  We decided next time that we would get the extra pass for our daughter, but not for us since she would be the one doing the activities.

One of the highlights of the day was the Pig Race in the Swine Speedway at 12:30. It was very exciting for all of the children. Farmer Ian was the MC of the race and gave out prizes and also let the children participate by holding up flags representing their team’s pig. There is an area for the kids to pet goats and sheep as well as see turkeys, chickens, and pigs. The one thing they didn’t have that my daughter asked about was cows.

The area we enjoyed, having one under 3, was the Little Farmers Corral. There were lots of fun swings and areas for the little ones to play. The zip lines are also there. They had regular zip lines for the children to hold on, but they also had zip lines for the little ones with seats. It’s a little close to the Pumpkin Cannon, so be aware if you have a child that gets spooked by loud noises, it can be loud over there.

We ended our day with a hayride to the pumpkin patch.  We didn’t have to wait at all to get on and as soon as we had picked a pumpkin they were there to pick us up. They are well prepared for big crowds.

Overall, we had an amazing day!! Thanks to PWC Moms and Belvedere Plantation for giving us an opportunity to go!  More information on hours, coupons, and ticket information can be found at http://www.belvedereplantation.com  Don’t forget to enter the photo contest after your visit!!

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Beth Heim is a mom to two kids. When she's not at the pumpkin patch, you can find her spending time with her family, taking photographs, and working as a teacher PWC schools.